Our journey takes us to Kipling country, where Rudyard Kipling got inspired to write the Jungle Book. While visiting two key national parks, Pench and Satpura, with a company that has its history rooted deep in conservation, we have the opportunity to see a variety of mammals and birds including tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, wild boars to name a few. The undulating topography supports a mosaic of vegetation ranging from moist, sheltered valleys to open, dry deciduous forest. Over 1,200 species of plants have been recorded from the area including several rare and endangered ones. The villages surrounding the national parks are the key to the survival of national forests today. It is only when the communities living around the national parks, understand the importance of saving India’s natural heritage, will they act as guardians of the very wildlife which you have come to see. 

  • Start : Nagpur
  • End : Bhopal
  • Time : Five Days
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Day 1 Nagpur-Pench National Park

Road trip map

Arrive in Nagpur by noon and be met by a representative at the airport arrival lounge. You will then transfer to Pench National Park​.​ Upon arrival to Jamtara Wilderness Camp, ​settle into your deluxe tent and explore the camp’s lodge, pool and surroundings. In the afternoon, meet the group for a nature walk. Located at the edge of the wildlife-rich buffer zone forests, at the northern end of Pench Tiger Reserve, and separated from the core area by a narrow tongue of seasonal cropland, Jamtara Wilderness Camp is perfectly placed for anyone keen to explore the jungle on foot – an idealway to truly appreciate and experience the wilderness. As with all of Pench, the Jamtara forests too are dense with a rich variety of figs whose prolific fruiting acts like an ecological force multiplier attracting frugivorous mammals and a multitude of birds both fruit-eating and those hawking for the insects that cluster around the figs. Indeed, a nature walk in the winter is a birders delight. 

But it is not just the richness of wildlife that makes a walk in the Jamtara forests so special; it is the isolation – no other lodges or camps, no great congregations of villages – allowing you the incredible privilege of waiting undisturbed in a forest clearing watching and photographing all the many little things that make a jungle come alive or waiting for a leopard to move from its kill or even quietly following the pack of wild dogs that live here as they trot half-seen through the trees.  

Before returning to the camp, enjoy evening chai in a local home in the village of Jamtara while you witness the domestic cattle’s coming back home with their herders, and the sunsets, a magical scene itself. Stay overnight at Jamtara Wilderness Camp. 

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Day 2 Pench National Park

Road trip map

As soon as dawn breaks, depart for jungle safari, accompanied by a resident naturalist and forest park guide in 4x 4 Jeeps.​​This is the best way to explore large areas looking for wildlife. Explore the park’s large diversity of wildlife, including Leopard, Tiger, Jungle Cat, Dhole (Wild Dog), Sloth Bear, Wild Boar, Mongoose, Gaur and the highest density of herbivores including Cheetal (Spotted Deer) and Sambar. Enjoy lunch back at the camp and a second jungle safari in the afternoon. Arrive back to camp in the evening for dinner and overnight. (B,L,D)

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Day 3 Pench National Park - Satpura National Park

Road trip map

After morning safari, drive to Satpura, 5 hrs away. Satpura National Park is located in south Hoshangabad district, in Madhya Pradesh. The 524 sq km park is the core area of the Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve that includes Bori Wildlife Sanctuary to its south-west and Panchmarhi Wildlife Sanctuary to its north-east. The park has an elevation of 320-1,352 m with tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, waterfalls, streams and dense forests near the Mahadev hills in the Pachmarhi plateau. The area boasts of two unique species of trees – the sal and the teak, besides wide varieties of ferns, mango trees, butterflies and birds. 

Arrive at Reni Pani Jungle Lodge in the afternoon and indulge in a Boat Safari (subject to permissible time). Boat safaris are excellent if one wants to get close to aquatic birds or sometimes even crocodiles. Stay overnight at Satpura. 

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Day 4 Satpura National Park

Road trip map

Enjoy a morning jeep safari and search for the sloth bear that calls this forest home. With lunch back at the lodge, have the opportunity to relax at the pool or partake in a second-afternoon jeep safari. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight. 

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Day 5 Satpura National Park - Bhopal

Road trip map

Explore the forest on foot during a walking safari. A highly skilled naturalist will help bring alive the lesser fauna such as geckos, butterflies, frogs and birds that one sometimes misses during other safaris. After lunch, transfer to Bhopal.